. >> abu nadal was viewed as the most heathal as all of the palestinian terrorist groups. >> december 27th, terrors as we know attacked rome and vietnam international airports. the latest in a series of atrocities which have shocked the conscience of the world. it's clear that the responsibility for these latest attacks lies squirely with the terrorist known as abu nadal and his organization. we shall make every effort to bring abu nadal and other terrorists to justice. >> the organization was a palestinian terrorist group devoted to the destruction of israel and the establishment of the palestinian state. >> in the '70s, and on into the '80s, they were responsible for the death or injury of over 900 people in 20 countries. the anl was as feared as isis is today. starting in the '60s, going all the way up until the mid-'80s, the u.s. government didn't know how to approach this problem. >> all of our attention was placed towards count ker espionage, the threat of the soviet menace. very little resources were dedicated to this nebulous terrorist threat that was starting to appear. even

members of the abu nadal organization.heir mission, get hostages for the release of abu nadal members in egypt. >> we have cross fire going down the aisle of an aircraft. at some point, a round pierces the skin of the aircraft. >> the pilot knows he's got to land that aircraft immediately. >> out over the horizon, he sees the island of malta. that's the best place for him to land at that point. because he is losing a lot of fuel. >> just felt it was very, very scary and dangerous. >> the hijackers had originally wanted the aircraft to go to libya. >> at the time, libya was a state-sponsor of terrorism. >> but the pilot told the hijacker that the aircraft could not make it to libya. they would either have to ditch in the sea or land in malta. >> i was so afraid. i was so worried. but i had my walkman, and i was listening to a famous israeli singer. the song says "to whom who doesn't believe, it is hard this year." this was the part of the hope in my mind. i have to believe it would be okay. i have to believe it went like th